House Re-levelling on the Sunshine Coast

What house re-levelling on the Sunshine Coast actually involves

Re-levelling works on the existing stumps. Adjustable steel stumps are wound back to level; timber or concrete are packed, shimmed or partially replaced. It is the right answer when the stumps are sound and the house has simply moved. Restumping replaces them entirely, and Council's permit line sits between the two: re-stumping is listed as needing a development building work permit where it involves replacing more than 20% of the total number of stumps. How many stumps genuinely need replacing is therefore a permit question as well as a repair one, and the certifier can say where your count falls.

Re-levelling versus restumping

The two failure modes on this coast point to different questions. On the plain, where the Bureau of Meteorology says flooding tends to last longer, the question is what standing water has done to the bases of timber stumps. In the hinterland, where the same brochure describes flash flooding from many small creeks, the question is whether ground has moved under a footing that is otherwise sound. Neither is a rule, and both need someone under the floor.

Where a hinterland lot is mapped as steep land, slopes of 15% or greater, the planning scheme's landslide code can apply to building work on it, and its acceptable outcomes name a competent person's site-specific slope analysis. On a falling block, access for jacks to the low side is a question to put to the contractor before the quote, not on the day.

House Re-levelling on the Sunshine Coast — common questions

How do I know re-levelling is enough?

If the floor slopes or bounces but the stumps are straight, sound and not rotted at the base, re-levelling is usually enough. If they are split, leaning or soft at ground level, adjusting only buys time. It takes under-floor access to tell.

Is re-levelling permanent?

It lasts as long as the ground stays put. On ground that moves seasonally a house may need adjusting again years later — which is the practical argument for adjustable steel stumps, because they can be re-levelled without another full lift.

Can it be done while we live there?

Usually. Re-levelling lifts the house very little and is staged across the floor, so services stay connected and the house stays habitable in most cases.